“Nobody did it” – Wout Weghorst opens up on mind games with Solly March ahead of Manchester United penalty shootout win over Brighton
Wout Weghorst has revealed that he asked his Manchester United teammates to play mind games with Brighton & Hove Albion players before the penalties. He wanted them to have a word with the opposition player before handing over the ball, but nobody did it.
Solly March missed the lone penalty in the shootout that helped Manchester United win 7-6 in the FA Cup semifinal on Sunday. The Red Devils have now set a date with Manchester City for the final on June 3.
Speaking to the media after the win, Weghorst claimed he wanted the players to do everything possible to get an advantage. He spoke to March before the penalty, and Brighton eventually ended up missing.
The Red Devils star was quoted by the Evening Standard as saying:
"I already said to do it before we started, to some of our guys but nobody did it. I scored, saw the ball and tried to get a few advantages to maybe help us win it."
He continued:
"I walked to him and said some things but at the end, I went to him because I felt sorry because that was the one that missed. I just tried everything and normally it doesn't make a difference but maybe it did."
Manchester United star tried similar tactics at the FIFA World Cup
Wout Weghorst and his Dutch teammates tried similar tactics and played mind games in the penalty shootout against Argentina. However, they did not manage to get into the South American side's heads and ended up losing.
Lionel Messi and Co. were furious with the Dutch side, and many refused to shake hands. Wegorst was one of the players who tried to talk to the PSG star but was blanked.
The Manchester United forward was quoted by GOAL saying:
"For me, everyone is the same in a match. I fight. That's what I did in that match. I had some tense moments with Messi in the match and maybe he was surprised. I respect him a lot, he's one of the best ever."
He added:
"After the game I wanted to show Messi the respect I have for him, but he wasn't very open to it. Now at least he has learnt my name. "I went to shake his hand after the game. He has not accepted it and has said something rude to me, but I do not understand Spanish very well. I'm very disappointed."